Bland is banned in this home – The Colour House is the aptly-named historic building where Caryn Gough and Merv Upton display their creative influences.

London’s best restaurants explain how they design their dining spaces, from banquette to banqueting table – Since Noma stormed onto the international food scene in 2003, the rulebook for what a high-end restaurant should look like went out the window; gone were the plush carpets, extravagant chandeliers and, most importantly of all, the table cloths. Noma helped to usher in a new, natural, woody aesthetic that leaned heavily upon the Scandinavian minimalist design school; you’d be hard-pressed to find a high-end restaurant from the last decade that hasn’t followed at least some of its design cues.

How to create an interesting looking home? Add a splash of colour – Adding colour in furniture and accessories set against pale white walls is a tried and tested way of giving a home a fresh and interesting look. The Dublin 6 home of designer Carol-Anne Leyden is a mix of her and her husband’s styles as well as a mélange of stylish pieces gathered from around Ireland and the world.